Sunkit's Struggle
by Batstar of ShadowClan
Summary: Sunkit is born into RiverClan as an albino tom with ghostly white fur and pink eyes. The Clan finds it hard to accept him, and everyone seems to either hate Sunkit or fear him. Sunkit begins to question whether he is meant to be a warrior or live forever as an outcast. As the Clans face a new darkness arising, Sunkit may be their only hope for peace... if he doesn't leave first.
1. Chapter 1

"Why is he so pale?" asked a she-cat's voice.

"More like _white_," snorted a tom.

Sunkit blinked open his eyes. There were two cats peering at him: a light brown tom and a light brown she-cat.

The moment Sunkit opened his eyes, the two drew back, horror etched in their faces.

"He has _red_ eyes!" gasped the she-cat.

"That's not natural," meowed the tom fearfully.

"There's nothing wrong with having red eyes," a third voice beside Sunkit meowed, and he knew that was Ashcloud, his mother.

_I have red eyes?_ Thought Sunkit. He looked into Birchleaf's eyes. They were blue. And the tom's were green. Was it bad to have red eyes?

"The Dark Forest warriors have red eyes," the she-cat meowed loftily.

"That's just a trick the elders tell to scare the young ones," Ashcloud meowed curtly. "Just because _you_ had perfect kits, Birchleaf, doesn't mean that you have to pick on others'."

Birchleaf sniffed and left the nursery, her head high.

"Anything else you want to add, Timbergrip?" asked Ashfur coldly to the tom.

"Uh, no," stammered the brown tom. "He's… very nice. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Ashcloud meowed coldly, and Timbergrip stumbled out of the den. Suddenly, Birchleaf pushed in two kits and flicked her tail irritably and leering.

"And at least you have _these,_" she drawled. "Oh, I'm sorry you're you, Ashcloud. Three kits, two being just plain _obnoxious_ and the other one abnormal."

"Sunkit's not abnormal!" snapped Ashcloud.

Birchleaf replied, but Sunkit had tuned them out; he was now staring at his littermates, the two kits Birchleaf had pushed in. They were tumbling about and squealing; one was a striped gray tom and the other, a ginger she-cat. Both were bigger than him, and took no notice to the argument above them.

The she-kit bumped into Birchleaf, who jumped back with a hiss, back arched.

"For StarClan's sake," Ashcloud scoffed, "you're afraid of kits?"

"No, of course not!" Birchleaf shot back. "I just happen to be annoyed with yours. You ought to have a little responsibility, Ashcloud, and control your kits."

_You don't have to diss her at every conversation,_ Sunkit thought, irritated with how this insolent she-cat was treating his mother.

Ashcloud pulled Sunkit closer to her, hiding him with his tail as Birchleaf growled at the ginger she-cat and left.

"Kits!" Ashcloud called out. "Come meet your new brother."

"New brother!" squealed the tabby tom, and stumbled towards Ashcloud, the ginger she-cat struggling along.

"He just opened his eyes today," Ashcloud meowed proudly.

Sunkit clambered out from behind his mother's tail, stumbling a bit, but straightened up in front of his older brother and sister, regarding them with what he hoped to be a proud face.

Instantly, the two kits recoiled, and Sunkit felt a tightening in his stomach.

"He's so white!" squealed the ginger she-cat.

"Why are his eyes _red_?" exclaimed the tabby.

_Here we go again, _Sunkit thought bitterly.

"Rosekit, Stormkit, be polite!" Ashcloud scolded. "Your brother has an, erm, special condition where he's like this. I expect you to treat him as you would to each other."

"He's so tiny," Stormkit said after a long pause.

"Yeah, he can play if he can _keep up_," smirked Rosekit.

Sunkit finally gained the courage to speak. "I can keep up!"

"Sure," Rosekit meowed arrogantly, and Sunkit vaguely wondered if she knew Birchleaf.

"Let's go play," Stormkit invited, and Rosekit followed him into the sun. Sunkit didn't wait for Ashcloud's approval and marched right after them.

"Isn't the camp _huge?_" Rosekit asked suddenly, and stood beside Stormkit, and the two gazed up and around the camp.

_Yes, it is,_ Sunkit thought, _just like your ego._

"I know, right!" Stormkit meowed. Ashcloud padded up to them.

"Stop it," she scolded, "be nice to your brother and include him!"

"_Fine_," Rosekit pouted, and Sunkit hadn't realized that they had deliberately tried to exclude him.

"He's a pipsqueak, he'll lose," Stormkit meowed.

"I can always _try_," Sunkit piped up.

"Shut up," Stormkit shot back.

"Stormkit!"

"Sorry, Ashcloud," Stormkit meowed drawled.

"Sorry, _who?"_

Stormkit sighed. "Sorry, Sunkit."

"Face him when you're talking!"

Stormkit turned jerkily and shoved his face into Sunkit's, making Sunkit feel even worse than he was feeling now, which he didn't know was possible. "I'm sorry I called you a loser."

"Stormkit, that's enough!" Ashcloud shouted. "You apologize _correctly_ to Sunkit, or I'm—"

But she never finished her statement. Sunkit knew, by the looks the other warriors were giving him now and the reactions of Birchleaf, Timbergrip, Stormkit, and Rosekit: she couldn't punish Stormkit and Rosekit to another warrior, because all the warriors thought like Stormkit and Rosekit: Sunkit was nothing but a freak, a freak with ghost-white fur and red eyes like a Dark Forest warrior, even Ashcloud. She may have been defending him, but her eyes betrayed her.

No one loved Sunkit.


	2. Chapter 2

"Today's the day you meet your father," Ashcloud told the three of them, "so I want you to behave."

Sunkit sat a little further away from his family. After all, Ashcloud seemed to direct her speech towards Stormkit and Rosekit, and gave no acknowledgement that Sunkit was listening at all.

"Here he comes!" Ashcloud exclaimed. A ginger-and-white tom padded in. He had warm amber eyes and a playful look on his face.

"Cloudfall!" Stormkit immediately tumbled forward, eager to meet him. Rosekit sat still for a while, then joined Stormkit in wrestling with Cloudfall. Sunkit edged forward tentatively. Cloudfall seemed like a fun father. Would he like him, too?

Ashcloud glanced at him and finally noticed Sunkit walking towards them. She called out.

"Cloudfall, this is Sunkit."

Cloudfall stopped and gazed at Sunkit. Sunkit's hopes began to deflate as Cloudfall's face took on disdain.

"That's Sunkit?"

"Yup," Ashcloud replied rather nervously.

Cloudfall gently distangled himself from Stormkit and Rosekit and walked over to Sunkit, sizing him up.

"He's so… small. And what's wrong with his fur? And his eyes?"

"I don't know," Ashcloud replied softly.

"Cloudfall, watch out!" squeaked Rosekit. Stormkit collapsed onto Cloudfall and the two tumbled over, Rosekit joining in a moment later.

They ignored Sunkit completely. Ashcloud gave one last sympathetic look and continued to watch the rest of the "family" playfight. She batted a paw in once or twice, but didn't interact with Sunkit at all.

"Okay, okay, I have to go," Cloudfall finally meowed, and Stormkit and Rosekit whined.

"Aw, no!"

"Can't you play one more round?"

"Your father has duties," scolded Ashcloud lightly. "He will return once he has the time to."

"'Bye!" called the two kits.

"See you later," Cloudfall called.

"'Bye," squeaked Sunkit a moment later. Cloudfall glanced back shortly and continued walking.

* * *

Cloudfall acted like he didn't have a third kit at all. He only had eyes for Stormkit and Rosekit, while Sunkit was invisible to him.

_I wonder if my fur could get paler,_ Sunkit thought, _then I could become invisible and no one would have to see my ugly appearance._

Ugly. He had heard the word come out of many warriors' mouths. Nothing compared, though, to the lashing his littermates gave him every day.

"Why didn't you name him Whitekit?" asked Stormkit one day.

"Because that would be mean," Ashcloud snapped.

"Or Evilkit," smirked Rosekit, quiet enough to evade Ashcloud's ears but loud enough for Sunkit to hear.

"I'm not evil," Sunkit squeaked in protest. _At least, I hope I'm not._

They ignored him.

"Kits," Ashcloud meowed one day, "let's go to the fresh-kill pile for your First Meat!"

Sunkit would've felt excited, but with all the insults and rumors hurled at him, he didn't really know what happiness felt like anymore.

In fact, he had never known how it felt.

"Yes!" Stormkit jumped up in triumph. "Finally!"

"Race you there!" Rosekit yowled, and took off, Stormkit on her tail. Sunkit, determined to prove himself, pelted off. He was catching up with Stormkit… he passed him… he was neck-to-neck with Rosekit…

"Ha!" with a leap, he shot past her… and right into the fresh-kill pile.

"Argh!" the elder Spiderwhisker jumped back with a hiss.

"Sorry." Sunkit clambered out from beneath a large thrush awkwardly.

"Sunkit!" roared Timbergrip from a distance away. "What have you done! How are we supposed to eat now!"

"Timbergrip, calm down," Ashcloud meowed coldly, padding up to the pile and pulling Sunkit roughly out. Rosekit and Stormkit smirked from a distance away, and Sunkit felt his fur grow hot.

_Maybe if I keep getting embarrassed like this, I'll become a ginger cat. Then, they won't make fun of me anymore. Wait, I still have red eyes. _

He remained silent as Timbergrip rambled on. Spiderwhisker huffed and snatched the thrush that had fallen on Sunkit and stalked away. The other warriors gave him looks of annoyance.

_Okay, fine,_ he thought in sudden annoyance, as Ashcloud picked a mouse for Stormkit and Rosekit, and a tiny minnow for Sunkit, _just bully me. One day…. You'll see how it feels on yourselves._

* * *

**This is a completely new arc from the other stories I've written. Ha, I'm probably going to combust from trying to write three stories at once, but let's see how it goes, hm? **

** ~Silentecho**


	3. Chapter 3

The ghost-white tom stood in the path, watching the Upright monsters whizz by, their stinking wind ruffling his fur. There were some huge monsters that crawled by slowly, and there were also smaller, lighter ones that raced by.

A golden brown tom stepped up to the ghost-white tom tentatively. He was the only one who was brave enough to talk to this cat, and the cat seemed to take him as an accomplice.

"Did you want something, Martin?" asked the white tom without looking at his companion.

"Why else would I be talking now?" retorted Martin. "The number of cats are increasing in BloodClan, Heracules. The fight and bloodshed are getting numerous."

"And why should we care?"

"Your leadership is at risk" was all Martin said, but that was enough. Heracules's snapped towards him.

"And," Heracules meowed quietly, tilting his head in mild interest, "what do you propose we do?"

"There is a forest," coughed Martin, elated at Heracules's interest, "near this place. However, there are cats living there. Around a lake."

"How many?"

"I don't really know. I've done a bit of snooping, asking, if you must, about these cats. The kittypets from around say that they eat the bones of animals in the forest and fight every day."

"Sounds like us," Heracules meowed. "What do we do about these cats?"

Martin sat down beside Heracules. "This is what I wanted to talk about."

* * *

Sunkit hovered near the edge as Jaysong and Featherpaw, the medicine cats, flitted around Breezewish. Stormkit and Rosekit edged closer excitedly, but Ashcloud shooed them away.

"She's in pain! Give her some space."

"We're done!" announced Jaysong. The Clan crowded around the nursery anxiously, jostling Sunkit to the back, Breezewish's mate Saltfur at the front.

"Hey!" Sunkit squeaked. "I want to see too!"

No one heard.

"What are their names?" asked Leopardtail. The Clan was silent.

"Name," corrected Breezewish. "His name is Troutkit."

"Perfect for RiverClan!" croaked Spiderwhisker.

"Welcome, Troutkit, to RiverClan!" Pikestar announced. "I'm sure you'll be a great warrior."

"What about us?" whined Rosekit.

_That's so rude!_

"You too," Pikestar purred in amusement, while Ashcloud looked horrified. "And Stormkit and Sunkit."

_He noticed me! He actually knew I was part of the Clan!_

At the mention of "Sunkit", the Clan started murmuring. Sunkit flattened his ears and tried to blend in with the reed beds around him, but it wasn't easy when you were ghost-white.

"He's evil."

"Did you see those eyes?"

"From the Dark Forest itself! He's a ghost!"

"An abomination!"

"Quiet!" roared Pikestar, causing Troutkit to squeak in protest, and Breezewish to glare at her leader.

"Sorry," Pikestar apologized, "Sunkit is no different from any of us. He has a rightful place in this Clan! Do not judge him on the color of his eyes, or the shade of his pelt! He is a living and breathing cat, not some ghost from the Dark Forest!"

Sunkit wanted to cry. Someone, _someone_ didn't think he was weird. Someone knew that he had great potential, just like any other warrior.

Pikestar stalked back to his den. The Clan began to disperse, but murmurs about Sunkit went on after Pikestar disappeared into his willow tree den.

"He'll never be a warrior. Not in my eyes," growled Thrushwhisker.

"Nor mine," agreed Oaksong.

"He's not a cat," insisted Birchleaf, "he's a monster."

_A monster._


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm a monster._ Birchleaf's words rang in his head. He had trouble sleeping, and soon was experiencing nightmares.

"I can't sleep, Ashcloud," he whispered one night, after waking up after a particularly horrible nightmare.

"Try" was all Ashcloud had replied to, and she did it subconsciously. Sunkit had lain in the shadows of the nursery, watching the moon, which made the whole nightmare replay in his mind.

He knew that Troutkit woke up sometimes, too, from dreams. He had watched quietly as Breezewish hushed him and comforted him, soothing him back to sleep by singing or telling a story. Sunkit would often fall asleep that way.

Pikestar, his one supporter, was often not seen. Sunkit had glimpsed him, but that was before Troutkit's birth. Now, the mottled leader disappeared many times. When he did appear in camp, his face was twisted with what Sunkit recognized as frustration and anger (Sunkit often felt like he showed those emotions often).

The rest of the Clan went on ignoring him. The only time they _did_ notice Sunkit was when he bumped into someone, or tripped over the fresh-kill.

"Sunkit, not again!" a warrior would meow exasperatedly.

"Sunkit, can't you be more careful?"

"Sunkit, seriously? I thought you would know better."

"Sunkit, you're so clumsy! You'll never be a warrior."

"Wow, Sunkit, I'd hate to be Ashcloud."

The warriors hurled insults at him, and Sunkit was forced to take it all. Mostly, he just muttered an apology and quickly left. Other times, he ran into the shadows and cried.

* * *

Alice sat on her Humans' fence, watching the forest, hoping that he would return. It had been so long since they had met again, but every day she would sit out here on the fence and watch.

She closed her eyes, and the memories flashed.

_Alice was sitting on the fence, as usual, sunning herself, watching the birds she wished she could catch. All of a sudden, a white streak flashed past her and one of the birds went down. Alice perked up her ears. _

_ A ghost-white tom sat in front of her, jaws full of the bird. He was, by far, the best-looking cat she had seen. His muscles shone against his pelt and his eyes were a deep green. _

_ "Wow!" she couldn't help it. It slipped out. _

_ The cat looked up. "Who are you?"_

_ "Alice," she had said. "Who are _you?_"_

_ "My name is Flex," he had meowed. _

A perfect name,_ she thought. _For a perfect cat.

_ "Are you hungry?" he asked. "It must be horrible, eating that rubbish the Uprights give you. They're all dry and… ick."_

_ "You haven't eaten them before, have you?" she asked. _

_ "No," he replied. _

_ "Well then, you don't know how it tastes, really."_

_ "I know it tastes not better than _this_," he had meowed teasingly, indicating the bird with his ears. "Want a bite?"_

_ She had always wanted to taste a bird, but they flew out of her reach before she could even lift a leg. How Flex had done it was a mystery. _

_ "Sure."_

_ He had brought it over, and she had jumped down, and they shared the bird. It was warm and delicious. They talked, Flex telling her stories about his outdoor adventures, which made her housecat routines seem lame. _

_ Then, they met every day. He would come, carrying some kind of prey, her waiting on the fence, confident that he would come. And he did. She would jump down, and they would eat the prey together and talk. _

_ She loved hearing his voice. It was deep and melodious, and his eyes were intricing. Then one day, she told him the news… she had been harboring it for a while. _

_ "I'm expecting kits!"_

_ His reaction had been stoic and seemingly indifferent, but she never saw him again. _

_ She never named her kits. In fact, she only fed them and never talked to them. She hid them from her Humans. Both of them were white, like Flex…_

_ One day, they were gone. Alice had woken up and they had disappeared. Only the scent of Flex lingered in the air…_

Alice sighed. _Maybe he's going to come back today. Then again, I say that every day._

* * *

**I know this seems to be going nowhere, but I promise you it is! Stick with me, please! Reviews appreciated, FLAMES WELCOME! ^^**

** ~Silentecho**


	5. Chapter 5

"Today is the day for a very special event, kits," Ashcloud told them as she groomed them one by one, even Sunkit.

"What?" asked Stormkit excitedly.

"You'll see."

"Awww!" whined Rosekit. "Tell us, please!"

"You'll find out soon enough," purred Ashcloud. "Off you go, Pikestar's going to call the Clan together anytime now…"

Sure enough, Pikestar hopped onto the Rock Beneath the Willow.

"All cats old enough to swim across the river join me for a Clan meeting!" he yowled. Sunkit followed his littermates tentatively as the Clan gathered around. Some gave him glares and hisses, and he cowered in the back.

"Today is the day for RiverClan to gain three new apprentices," Pikestar announced. Sunkit's heart leapt. He'd been practicing some moves in secret. Maybe if he showed them what a good warrior he was, then they'd really appreciate him.

"Stormkit, step forward. Until this cat receives his warrior name, he shall be Stormpaw. Runningwing will be your mentor."

_No fair! He gets the deputy!_

"Rosekit, step forward. Until this cat receives her warrior name, she shall be Rosepaw. Boartooth will be your mentor."

_Ugh, what?_ _Boartooth's one of the best in the Clan! Who will I get?_

"Sunkit, step forward."

Sunkit felt dazed as the Clan, for the first time, parted for him. They formed a path leading up to the Rock Beneath the Willow, and as he walked down, he could see the contemptuous glares and hear the abhorring gossips. Pikestar looked down upon Sunkit with a rather indifferent expression.

"Until this cat receives his warrior name, he shall be Sunpaw."

There was a pause as Pikestar's eyes swept the Clan for a mentor. Sunkit dared to look back. The Clan had regrouped again, and most of the warriors averted their eyes and stared to the ground. Others shook their heads slightly, and indicated, with the smallest of twitches, that they didn't want to be mentor. They whispered to each other and continued glaring.

"Birchleaf," Pikestar announced.

"What!" Sunkit and Birchleaf exclaimed simultaneously.

"I can't," Birchleaf meowed at once.

"Why?" scoffed Pikestar. "Look, I know you don't like him. That's why I assigned him to you. I'm sure you'll eventually get along."

_Fat chance,_ thought Sunpaw.

The Clan dispersed. Many of the warriors had said "congrats" or "welcome" to Stormpaw and Rosepaw, but no one had even given Sunpaw a second glance.

"Boartooth, can you take Sunpaw? I need to go uh, do something," Birchleaf called across the reed bed.

"They've already left," laughed Timbergrip.

"Runningwing?" asked Birchleaf hopefully.

_Stop tossing me around like that,_ Sunpaw thought irritably.

"No," Runningwing yowled back, "you've got to take care of your own things."

Birchleaf huffed loudly. Several warriors gave her what seemed like sympathetic glances.

As Sunpaw trudged towards her grudgingly, Blizzardfur passed, smirking.

"I hate to be you."

"Shut up," growled Birchleaf. Sunpaw remembered that Blizzardfur was Cloudfall's brother, and had probably heard Birchleaf scorning Ashcloud.

Sunpaw stood there, bracing himself.

"Hello," Birchleaf meowed, sounding tired. "Let's go… explore the territory…."

Sunpaw followed at a distance as Birchleaf stalked out of the reed bed, jumped stiffly over the small island-rock, and over to the other side of the creek. Sunpaw bunched his muscles and jumped onto the island-rock, and then over to the side. It was way too big for him to step over, like Birchleaf, who watched his progress with impatience.

"Finally, out of the camp," she muttered sarcastically. "Keep up, will you?" she set off at a trot, and Sunpaw had to sprint to keep up.

They walked through the forest in a tensed silence. Birchleaf's shoulders were hunched, and Sunpaw tried to memorize the trees and leaves as they strolled. Birchleaf was obviously speeding up, trying to lose Sunpaw, but he was determined to follow her all the way.

The forest began to thin, and RiverClan scent began to become mixed with a horrible stink that Sunpaw didn't recognize.

"Is that ThunderClan?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

"No, those are the Thunderpaths," Birchleaf drawled mysteriously, "you'll get killed by a monster if you dare to cross!"

Sunpaw shuddered, and turned away. "Um, where now?"

Birchleaf shrugged nonchalantly, eyeing him with a mix of indifference, hatred, and laziness.

"Can we go back?"

"Yeah, I guess; training's over once we get back."

The pair headed back to camp rather quickly. Rosepaw and Stormpaw, apparently, were still out, and Birchleaf immediately ditched Sunpaw once they reached the reed bed.

Now what? He looked around for something to do.

"Sunpaw, stop lying around and join a patrol!" yowled Sandpath, who was in charge for Runningwing, across the camp.

"Okay, okay," grumbled Sunpaw. The other warriors drew away from him as he padded past, and he huffed. There was a patrol of Timbergrip, Maplepelt, and Briarfur forming, but they tensed as he padded near them. "Can I join?"

Timbergrip looked fearfully around for another patrol, but there was none. "Fine…"

Sunpaw trailed behind them as the three took the lead, laughing and joking. Sunpaw didn't want to get caught in their conversation; they were talking about red eyes and Dark Forest warriors.

Timbergrip, who was head of patrol, paused suddenly, causing Maplepelt and Briarfur to stop, and Sunpaw to almost crash into them (thankfully not).

"I think we'd cover more hunting distance splitting up," Timbergrip announced. Maplepelt and Briarfur nodded in approval, and the plan was put into action.

_They just want to get rid of me,_ Sunpaw thought sadly. Still, he headed towards the only familiar trail—the one that Birchleaf had shown him, the one that lead to the Thunderpath.

The Thunderpath smell washed over him, and he inhaled deeply. RiverClan meant nothing to him; he meant nothing to them. Still, he looked around for prey. If he could catch one without Birchleaf showing him how, even, to crouch in a hunting position… then, they would maybe pay him with more respect than he was getting now…

Across the Thunderpath was a field of green grass, and further out, a large, what Birchleaf had called, Twolegplace.

A large group of pheasants landed on the tall green grass on the other side. They were large and plump, and could've fed Sunpaw, Rosepaw, and Stormpaw together, and still had left overs. Sunpaw's heart pounded in excitement; if he could catch one, then surely….

Sunpaw glanced across the Thunderpath; no monsters. Daring himself, he placed a careful paw on the hard, black trail.

With cautious and tentative strides, he willed himself to cross all the way. Suddenly, a monster roared out, its large yellow eyes glowing, ready to devour him.

* * *

Heracules loped across the grassy meadow. He was going to check out the forest today, make sure that those warriors who Martin was babbling about really were real. If they weren't… well, Martin would get the usual punishment for liars.

There was a black Uprightpath nearing. Heracules looked closer… there was a white speck standing out against the dark road.

He moved faster, and suddenly realized it was a _cat_. A white cat, with unusually pale fur, just like him. Could it be…. No, she had told him they were dead. Gone. Disappeared, mysteriously. He knew how they had gone, his and her kits, but he had never realized there was another one. For a long time she, his former mate, had used 'they', but he'd found only one kit, who was now living with him and BloodClan.

The white cat was carefully making his way across the Uprightpath, obviously a newbie at crossing. You had to move fast, or else get eaten by a monster. Heracules's father had died that way.

A monster suddenly roared out, larger than Heracules had ever seen in his life, at the white tom. His eyes—_red eyes_—widened in surprise, and the tom stood frozen there. He was a very small cat—close in age to Heracules's own son Trojan.

And he looked like Trojan too—red eyes, pale white fur. By instinct, Heracules leapt at the white tom, knocking him over to the grass on the other side of the Uprightpath, the monster's breath ruffling both their furs as it roared past, missing them by half a tail-length.

* * *

**I'm sorry that I deleted the other two stories- I decided that they weren't really good sequels and prequel and plus, I lost interest. Sorry. **

**Reviews for this story are appreciated!**

**Also, Willowsong of ThunderClan, please stop bombarding me with offended PMs and reviews. I'm sorry that I was to harsh when I said that your plots are about the same, but they kinda are. It's just a small criticism, and I didn't mean any harm. **

** ~Tigerleap (new name!)**


	6. Chapter 6

The monster didn't hit him. In fact, it was something else—a stronger force that knocked him sideways onto the grass.

The monster bleated past, and Sunpaw struggled underneath the weight of whatever had pushed him over.

It was a cat. Sunpaw widened his eyes at the tom's appearance—ghostly white, just like him!

The tom's eyes were an intense green and not a red like his. Perhaps, though, they were related.

"Who are you?" Sunpaw managed to squeak out.

"My name is Heracules. Some call me… Flex." The tom's voice was deep, and muscles shone against his pale pelt. His eyes glowed against his fur. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sunpaw."

"Sunpaw? Why 'paw?'"

"I'm a warrior." Sunpaw felt like he was lying. "I'm a warrior of RiverClan."

"Are you the cats who eat bones every night?" asked Heracules, rather delicately.

"No," replied Sunpaw, "we don't eat bones. We live and hunt together; there are four Clans in the Lake Territory who share the forest together. It's kind of complicated."

"I'm sure I can grasp the concept," Heracules replied, and he reminded Sunpaw strongly of Birchleaf. "Why are you out here, small cat?"

_Another one. Can't they look past the pelt and eyes? Besides, you're pretty white, too._

"I'm old enough to," snapped Sunpaw, irritated, "after a cat becomes six moons old, they are able to become apprentices under a mentor."

"Where's your mentor?"

"Away," replied Sunpaw stiffly. "Anyways, I've got to catch prey to feed to my Clan or else…" he faltered.

Heracules stepped forward and placed a gentle tail on Sunpaw's shoulder. "Or else they will scorn you even more than they are now."

Sunpaw looked up. "How do you know?"

"I've been treated the same way," Heracules meowed, a sad look in his eyes. They seemed far from reality. "Because of the way I look. But, I've trained and I've trained, and I have respect from every Uprightplace cat."

"So… what's your point?"

"My point is, you have to work harder to get what you want. The world isn't fair, Sunpaw, and definitely not to us pale cats. Some of us just have to try harder than others."

Heracules disappeared, and Sunpaw stood there, processing what he had just said. Then the bushes beside him rustled and Heracules returned, holding a pheasant in his jaws. The flock earlier had disappeared due to the monster, and Sunpaw hadn't noticed.

Heracules dropped the pheasant at Sunpaw's paws. "Take this."

"But…"

"I know, it's cheating, technically. But it's one way to get what you want."

"It's not the right way."

"It's good to make a first impression," Heracules retorted. "Take it or leave it."

Sunpaw stared at the pheasant. Heracules slid back into the bushes and disappeared. This time, he didn't come back. The pheasant was his key to respect, even if it wasn't his catch. Still, it was wrong to take it. But Heracules had given it up to him…

Sunpaw took the pheasant in his jaws and began to drag it in the direction of the camp.

* * *

By the time Sunpaw arrived at camp, the rest of the patrol had ditched him and was already there. The warriors' eyes widened at Sunpaw's pheasant.

"He didn't catch that," accused Birchleaf. "I didn't even teach him the hunting crouch!"

"Get rid of that at once, then!" snapped Saltfur. "We don't know what it has been through!"

"I caught it," Sunpaw meowed, the lie escaping his lips before he could think twice.

Warriors up and down the camp listening to the argument exchanged glances. Then, Birchleaf stalked up, eyes narrowed to slits. Everyone was watching, and Sunpaw felt his fur grow hot again.

"How?"

"Like any other warrior," retorted Sunpaw.

"Show me," scoffed Birchleaf, and although Sunpaw's heart felt like mouse guts, he stood still and met Birchleaf's insolent glare proudly.

"Fine." He stalked out of the camp, and he could hear many pawsteps following him.

_StarClan, help me. If they find out I lied…_

They had arrived at a forest, and Birchleaf, Oaksong, Pikestar, Rosepaw, Stormpaw, and his own father Cloudfall had trailed him. They looked up at him with disdain and expectance.

"Well?" Cloudfall finally asked. Birchleaf rolled her eyes.

Sunpaw began to walk around, sniffing like he saw Leafpaw do many times while she was practicing. There was a strong smell of squirrel, and after a long look around (Oaksong huffed), he spotted it on the ground, digging.

He dropped into a crouch like he'd seen Leafpaw do. There were whispers behind him about his wrong positions, but he willed the warriors to shut up. They did as he neared the squirrel, which didn't turn around.

_StarClan, help. Let me catch this squirrel, please. I'll do anything. _

To his surprise, a voice, which seemed to echo around in his head, replied.

** Anything?**

****_Anything, _pleaded Sunpaw, not bothering to wonder the source. _I just need to catch this squirrel. _

**I can help you with that… if you help me with something…. Promise. **

_Fine, _thought Sunpaw irritably, not thinking at all.

"Hurry up," whispered Rosepaw. The squirrel's head shot up.

Sunpaw leapt towards the squirrel, and suddenly he felt stronger, faster, lighter; the squirrel was still far away, and he never would've even jumped as far as he did now; Sunpaw landed squarely on the squirrel, and bit it. Adrenaline coursed through him, his energy refilling. How he had even the power to jump and kill this fat squirrel, it was a mystery.

He sat up with the dead prey in his jaws. The warriors watching had their jaws hanging open.

"Y-you really did catch that pheasant!" said Oaksong in a hoarse whisper.

Sunpaw only nodded. He couldn't believe his luck.

They lead him away in a victory march.


	7. Chapter 7

"So he did catch it?" asked Ashcloud.

"Yes," Cloudfall replied, rather proudly, "he did."

"He just got lucky," retorted Birchleaf.

Sunpaw secretly agreed with Birchleaf.

"He did not!" snarled Cloudfall. "We all saw it with our own eyes. In case you didn't remember, Birchleaf, you took ages to catch a single mouse!"

Birchleaf snarled in frustration and stalked away. Cloudfall looked upon Sunpaw proudly.

"Good job," he muttered.

* * *

Sunpaw dragged his exhausted body to his nest. How he had caught the squirrel was a mystery to him. Cloudfall was the only one convinced that he had caught the squirrel without luck; the ginger-and-white warrior paraded around camp, claiming that Sunpaw had inherited his skills; Cloudfall was known as one of the best prey-hunters in the Clan.

Sunpaw curled up in his corner of a nest. Rosepaw and Stormpaw eyed him with hatred and envy and turned away. Leafpaw wasn't back yet.

Closing his eyes, Sunpaw opened them to find him in a patch of dark woods. The trees were slimy and grim. Death hung in the air, along with the musty smell of decay. A gooey river oozed by, and the grass was slick with the endlessly flowing blood of continuously fighting cats.

"Where—where am I?" Sunpaw stammered to nothing. The moon didn't shine at all—there was no light here, except for the grim light of cats' eyes. Sunpaw's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he realized a cat was padding up to him.

"Greetings," meowed the tom in a oily voice.

"Who are you?" Sunpaw blurted out. "Where am I?"

The tom gestured carelessly to the surroundings. "Welcome to the Dark Forest."

Sunpaw stumbled back, heart pounding as he realized where he was. "The Dark Forest! How did I even get here?"

"Careful," the tom drawled carelessly, "it's dangerous here. The Dark Forest is for cats—"

"Who are evil!"

The tom, who Sunpaw saw was brown, shook his head impatiently. "Sunpaw, Sunpaw…"

"How do you know my name?"

"Listen to me, please. You, like many other warriors, are misunderstanding something. The Dark Forest is not a place for evil cats; it was a place for cats who felt like they didn't belong. They were bullied through their warrior lives and they lashed back, but when they lashed back at the warriors the warriors exiled them in fury. The cats lived unfair and vengeful lives. They were misunderstood…. Just like you."

_Just like me._ The tom definitely had a point.

"What's your name?" asked Sunpaw. "Can we meet here… again? Later, tomorrow, maybe?"

The tom looked pleased that he had won Sunpaw over so easily. Cats like these were so easy to persuade. Get them distraught, then just say a few mellow words. "Sure. My name's Clawface, by the way."


	8. Chapter 8

Sunpaw jerked awake. Rosepaw and Stormpaw snored at the opposite end of the den, and Leafpaw was gone already, wide and alert as the eldest apprentice. Sunpaw clambered up sleepily and stretched, yawning—

"Sunpaw! Hurry up!" Birchleaf appeared at the mouth of the apprentice's den. "We haven't gotten all day!"

"Sorry," he muttered. He stepped out of his nest and followed Birchleaf outside, the cool leaf-fall air chilling his fur. The sun wasn't up yet.

Who was Clawface? What he done to land him in the Dark Forest? He seemed nice enough. Perhaps he was right; the Dark Forest wasn't evil, it was just an elder's rumor. The Dark Forest was for the cats who were misunderstood and didn't get a second chance.

Perhaps he belonged in the Dark Forest.

"Sunpaw, where's you mentor?" snapped a voice. It was Runningwing, Stormpaw's mentor.

Sunpaw looked around. Birchleaf was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know," he replied nervously.

"Go do your apprentice duties, then," Runningwing growled.

Sunpaw dashed towards the medicine den to pick up the moss for the elders' nests, not daring to look back. Runningwing, in his opinion, didn't even deserve to be deputy; the big warrior strutted around camp with a swagger as large as the pheasant Heracules had caught for Sunpaw.

The two elders, Stagfoot and Spiderwhisker, glared at him as he stepped carefully into their den.

"Leafpaw already changed our nests," Stagfoot meowed before Sunpaw could do anything. "You can go."

Sunpaw shrugged and padded out, preparing to drop the moss off at the medicine den.

"Hello, Sunpaw," Jaysong meowed stiffly. She had regarded him with careful respect; he knew that she did not like him, yet she was afraid of upsetting StarClan if she treated him badly.

Sunpaw nodded a greeting and dropped the moss off, pawing away the bits that he had bitten on.

"Sunpaw! I've been looking everywhere for you!" snapped Birchleaf, appearing at the entrance of the camp.

_No, you haven't,_ thought Sunpaw bitterly.

The warriors who were up and around all seemed to press closer to listen in. Sunpaw felt his fur grow hot.

"Next time," Birchleaf rambled on, arching her back, "follow me closely! You'll never be a proper warrior if you don't follow your mentor's rules! You're already a horrible cat, Sunpaw; do you want to make yourself worse? Are you proud of being weird and creepy? Do you think your ghost of a pelt and Dark Forest eyes make you special? No! Exactly the opposite! You don't belong here, Sunpaw; I would go if I were you. You're not making the Clan better—you're making it worse. I'm not surprised if ShadowClan already is planning to ambush us—"

Something inside Sunpaw snapped. All the anger, all the hatred, all the guilt of being a "ghost cat" he had been holding within him exploded.

Sunpaw lashed out, his claws unsheathed to the max, and aimed a blow at Birchleaf's face. The tips of his claws grazed the brown she-cat's nose and she drew back, yowling in anger.

"He's evil! He's evil! Attack on his own Clanmate!" she howled, eyes blazing with anger.

"Quiet!" roared Pikestar, appearing out of nowhere. Sunpaw, heart pounding and eyes blurry because of his sudden outrage, cowered at the back of the medicine den. Jaysong and Featherpaw scrambled out. Most of the warriors had woken up to Birchleaf's screams.

"What's going on?" Pikestar continued, looking irritated.

"Sunpaw attacked a Clanmate," Briarfur immediately said.

Pikestar looked skeptical, but looked at Sunpaw, his eyes piercing into Sunpaw's pelt. "Well, did you?"

Afraid to look up, Sunpaw nodded.

"Come with me, please," Pikestar meowed, and Sunpaw trudged out. _This is it. I'm in for it… I'm going to get kicked out of RiverClan. I'll live as a loner, then get killed by a monster, and die. Well, what's there to live for anymore? Everyone hates me. I'm an abomination, just like Birchleaf said. She was right all along. _

Pikestar walked briskly along a forest. Sunpaw had to trot to catch up. They were walking a different path, one that Sunpaw didn't recognize.

Suddenly, they stopped. Pikestar looked Sunpaw straight in the eye. "Why did you attack Birchleaf?"

"How did you know it was Birchleaf?" asked Sunpaw stupidly.

"Just a hunch," Pikestar meowed casually, then continued in a firmer, softer voice. "Are you going to tell me why?"

"She called me a monster," Sunpaw meowed in a small voice. He felt like crying. She thinks I'm actually proud of being, quote, 'weird and creepy.' She thinks I'm—I'm a spy for the Dark Forest, and that I'm planning to ambush them—destroy the Clans, that is—but I would never… this is my home…" his vision began to blur with tears, and he looked away in shame.

Pikestar laid his tail on Sunpaw's shoulder gently. "I'm sorry about Birchleaf, Sunpaw. I'll talk to her later. If she's acting like this, then I'll have to exile her. She can't go on disrespecting cats. I know the looks others give you, Sunpaw, and the words they say. I know you can't stand getting bullied like this, but if you work harder, prove yourself, they'll respect you."

"Really?" sniffed Sunpaw skeptically. It didn't seem possible that anyone (with the exception of Pikestar, perhaps) would ever appreciate _him_.

"Really," Pikestar echoed, with a gentle spark in his eyes. "You know," he said, as they returned to camp, "I was the smallest of the six in my family. My littermates used to bully me all the time, but look where I am now." He raised his head. "Four of them are in StarClan; Stagfoot is still with us. He looks to me with respect, but I look to him with respect, too." Pikestar stared hard at the forest ahead of them as they continued their stroll. "Learn to respect others, and in turn, they'll respect you."

* * *

"Birchleaf," Pikestar boomed as he and Sunpaw returned, "come here, please."

"What?" Birchleaf padded over, and spotted Sunpaw. "Why is _he_ still here?"

"_Sunpaw_ belongs rightfully in RiverClan," growled Pikestar, "unlike you."

Birchleaf recoiled. "What do you mean?"

Sunpaw felt awkward as the two cats' voices began to rise.

"I mean," Pikestar roared over Birchleaf's protesting yowls, "that you are a disrespectful, rude warrior! Insulting a Clanmate! That is worse than physically attacking them! Absolutely revolted at your behavior—out of RiverClan now!"

_Pikestar rather overreacted,_ thought Sunpaw as Birchleaf huffed and left RiverClan for the last time. Pikestar flicked his tail for Tigerleap and Batwing to see her off.

"We need to decide on a new mentor for you," Pikestar meowed stiffly after they had gone after Birchleaf. He looked around. Sunpaw felt saddened as the warriors avoided eye contact.

"Coyotefur," called Pikestar, and a very large, tall, and rather bulky brindled warrior padded out of a group of laughing toms. He had angry yellow eyes and sharp teeth protruding out of his jaws, making them look too big for his mouth. Certainly, he lived up to his namesake.

"Me?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes, you," Pikestar replied. "I expect you to treat Sunpaw nicely and pass your skills onto him."

Pikestar left, leaving Sunpaw with Coyotefur. Coyotefur looked as if he would rather be anywhere else—which made Sunpaw feel even worse.

"Go do your duties, then," Coyotefur rumbled, "and tell me when you're done. We have a lot to do today."


	9. Chapter 9

Coyotefur, Sunpaw knew, didn't like him any better than Birchleaf (perhaps just a little), but he kept the contempt down.

"We are going to start with the hunting crouch," Coyotefur rumbled in his deep voice as they arrived at the training island, "but I expect you already know it pretty well, considering that… well caught squirrel."

Sunpaw gulped and decided to tell the truth under Coyotefur's piercing glare. "I—I think I just got lucky."

Coyotefur flicked his tail and ears indifferently. "Well, let's just see the crouch."

Sunpaw dropped into the crouch. Coyotefur looked him over at the front position, then began to pace around him.

"Your tail is too low, you're brushing the leaves," Coyotefur growled behind him, and Sunpaw had the instinct to run, run far away. He willed himself to lower his tail and stay still.

"Better," said Coyotefur.

They continued working on different positions and techniques, all of which Sunpaw surprisingly mastered quickly.

"You're doing…good," Coyotefur admitted gruffly, for he could not find a single mistake on Sunpaw's attack crouch when he tried the third time. "Good progress today. Let's head back, and you can join a patrol."

* * *

"Sunpaw, hurry up!" snapped a voice when they reached the camp. It was Gingerleaf, who was organizing the patrols. Runningwing was still away with Stormpaw. It always seemed like Sunpaw's training sessions ended earlier than either of his littermates'. Coyotefur must have wanted to get rid of him quickly. "Join a patrol!"

"Sunpaw, Sunpaw!" Troutkit stumbled up. He tipped his head upward to look at Sunpaw, and his amber eyes were huge. "Catch me a trout, okay? So I know they're real!"

"Of course they're real," purred Sunpaw, "you're named after them!"

"Yeah," Troutkit sniffed, "but all I see in the river are tiny minnows and guppies!"

"Well, trouts are real," Sunpaw reassured, "I'll catch you one if I see one."

"Troutkit, get back here!" yowled Breezewish, catching up to her kit. She drew him away with one tail, glaring at Sunpaw. "You're not to wander out of the den!"

_And talk to weird cats,_ Sunpaw finished silently.

"'Bye, Sunpaw!" squealed Troutkit. Sunpaw stared after them. Breezewish lowered her head to talk to Troutkit, no doubt spreading those lies about Sunpaw. Troutkit threw up his head in protest and subconsciously glanced at Sunpaw. Yup. Definitely about him.

He sighed and turned away. Quickstrike, Leopardtail, and Heronfeather were forming a patrol, and he quickly joined them. They reluctantly agreed.

Sunpaw dragged his paws along, and the three warriors padded on ahead.

He stared at the ground as he continued his saunter. _I'm so worthless. Everyone hates me. Why can't I just drown? Oh wait, I'm RiverClan. That's too bad._

The talking had stopped. Sunpaw looked up, and the three warriors had ditched him.

"Quickstrike!" he called out nervously. He had not fully explored RiverClan territory yet, and it had begun to smell unfamiliar, rouge scents drifting in from nearby places and mixing with familiar RiverClan scents. "Leopardtail? Heronfeather?"

No answer.

_No matter,_ Sunpaw thought sadly, _they'll never answer me anyways._

He began to walk around. How could he be lost on his own territory? That would just add to his embarrassment.

"Hey."

Sunpaw whipped around. In the shadows of a tree stood a brown cat.

"Clawface?" he asked tentatively.

The cat stepped out, his bright red scars contrasting against his dark fur. Clawface smiled crookedly, revealing broken and yellow teeth. Sunpaw's stomach did a flip.

"W-what… hi?" he asked weakly.

Clawface stepped closer. "Don't be afraid, Sunpaw." His rancid breath stank. "I'm here to help."

"How? Do you know how to get back to RiverClan camp?"

"Yeah." Clawface looked up and gazed around. "Yes."

"Oh, you're formally RiverClan right?" Sunpaw asked as they started walking.

"No," Clawface meowed in his rasp of a voice, "I used to be ShadowClan. There was a time when all the Clans trained as one, and we were allowed on each others' territories."

"Oh," Sunpaw replied indifferently. _When will be the day when we are all treated the same?_

They were suddenly on familiar territory. This was the Thunderpath path that Birchleaf had shown him.

"I'm fine by myself, now, thanks," Sunpaw replied.

"Okay, then… hey, kit, if you'd like, I can give you some extra training. Really step it up to show off your Clanmates." Clawface faced him.

Extra training sounded fine. "Sure," Sunpaw meowed. "Where? When?"

"We'll visit again in your dream," Clawface replied. Sunpaw nodded a good-bye as the tom turned away.

Where did the Dark Forest cats go? Where was the Dark Forest, anyways? Sunpaw stretched out his head to glimpse Clawface, but he blinked and the warrior was gone.

* * *

**Here is one of my favorite RP sites- www. anotherwarriorrp . proboards PM me if you've joined- my username is GrandJury-we can be friends! ^^ Be sure, when you type in the URL, to get rid of the spaces!**

** ~Tigerleap**


	10. Chapter 10

Heracules crossed the Uprightpath easily. It was a small one, one that wasn't as smooth as the others in the Uprightplace and was littered with pebbles and mud puddles.

He wanted to see Sunpaw again. He had looked so much like Trojan, his son—the eyes, the pelt, everything.

He'd asked Trojan if he remembered having a brother, and Trojan hadn't replied—not directly, at least.

"I think mother said something about a cat once" was all Trojan had said.

Sunpaw, he knew, was Alice's. He had the same stocky built, the same slender shape, and the intense eyes he had come to know so well. Of course, he never visited her. He had many she-cat friends all over the place, and he'd lost track already.

He hadn't forgotten his kits, though. BloodClan was now an army of ghost-white warriors. Only Martin was golden-brown—the rest were white toms, sons of Heracules, Martin, and others who had abandoned their kit as a result of their appearance.

Heracules disguised his scent among ferns and continued along the grassy slope, which was starting to become wet. The stench of enemies was strong in his nose—they were warning that this was _their_ territory.

_It must be the Clans,_ he thought.

A scarred brown tom stalked by, and took notice of Heracules.

"You are…?"

"Flex," he replied, giving his fake name. He only gave his true name to those he trusted, and others knew him then as Flex.

"Clawface," the brown tom said before Heracules could ask. "What brings you here, rouge?"

Heracules scowled at the mention of the word. "A cat," he replied. "Specifically, a tom with a white pelt like mine and red eyes."

Clawface looked surprised, but narrowed his eyes. "Sunpaw, is it? I was just talking to him."

"You were?" _This cat looks really suspicious. How does he know Sunpaw? Did he do anything to him?_ "Where is he now?"

The tom shrugged. "He headed back to the RiverClan camp, I think."

"Why are you all… faint and foggy like that?" Heracules gestured to Clawface's body. It didn't look exactly solid, and his image flickered with the breeze.

"I'm dead," Clawface meowed in an indifferent voice. "I can walk around on living ground. We have the power to do that."

"Oh," Heracules meowed, "is this some kind of StarClan thing I've heard about?"

Clawface replied immediately. "Yes."

"Oh. You're from that freak place for the dead, StarClan, then? In the stars, suppositively?"

"Yeah," Clawface replied gruffly. "Where'd you hear about this stuff, anyways?"

Heracules shrugged, trying to look cool. "Around. I used to meet up with this she-cat from one of the Clans."

"Used to?" Clawface sat down, looking amused.

"Yeah," Heracules drawled, "I left, though. Couldn't take it. She's too busy, I'm too busy, we couldn't do it anymore."

"I'm sorry," Clawface replied in the same tone, which made Heracules feel embarrassed on the inside. "What was her name?"

Heracules frowned. "I don't remember." This was a lie. He did, very clearly, in fact.

"Oh, well, then," Clawface replied in a monotone. "You have a place where you stay, or you just passing by?"

"I have a place," Heracules replied, elated at this tom's interest, even if it was minimal. "I run Uprightplace."

"Do you?" asked Clawface, sounding skeptical.

"Of course," retorted Heracules. "I'll show you."

"Lead on," Clawface meowed silkily, and Heracules turned away, scowling.

"Follow me," he replied curtly. He jumped ahead, loping across the small stretch of grass, Clawface silently following him. The brown cat sent chills down his back, but this was one warrior Heracules wanted to impress.

"By the way," he meowed, as they crossed the Uprightpath, "my name's not Flex. It's Heracules."

* * *

"Heracules? Back so soon?" Martin emerged from the shadows. He looked surprised at the arrival of Clawface. "Who's this?"

Clawface stepped up to face Martin's gaze proudly and arrogantly. "The name's Clawface."

"Fits you," Martin replied, and Heracules wished he could've said that when he had first met Clawface.

"Thank you," Clawface replied in a oily voice, "I like it." He looked around. "Are there others?"

"Oh yes," Heracules cut in, "our sons."

"So I've heard," Clawface replied, then proceeded to pad ahead of the two BloodClan leaders. Heracules and Martin exchanged glances, then followed.

As they turned the corner, heads whipped around. The sea of white cats made Clawface's brown pelt stand out like dirt on snow. Trojan spotted Heracules and padded towards him. He was the only one out of the bunch with red eyes.

"Newcomer?" he asked.

"Nah," Clawface drawled lazily, "just here to look. Why is it so white here?"

Martin laughed, then punched Clawface in the shoulder with his tail. "I know, right!" He pushed through the crowd, Clawface following, Heracules (scowling) bringing up the rear, towards the platform of the Uprights. The three of them jumped onto the platform and Heracules onto a large Upright Dumpster. The cats in the front took notice and started to quiet down—Trojan moved around, shutting others up and cuffing the disrespectful ones on the head.

Once the Clan was quiet, Heracules began to speak, hoping deseperately not to mess up.

"We have a visitor," he meowed, trying to sound smooth. "Clawface, of the Clans."

"What's up!" shouted Auster, one of Martin's sons.

"What Clan are you?" asked Icarus, Heracules's son. "BrownClan?"

The camp rumbled with crazy laughter. Heracules scowled at the lack of civility. "Shut up!" he roared.

Finally, when they quieted down, he continued. "He is—"

"Allow me to introduce myself," Clawface interrupted smoothly, standing up and joining Heracules on the Dumpster, nudging him out of the center. "I'm of StarClan."

"Those dead cats?" asked Jason, Heracules's son. "You're dead?"

"Yes," Clawface replied, "I'm dead."

There was more laughter, and some "he's dead!" Heracules tensed. This was not going right. Clawface narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable.

"However," he meowed, "I can still kill."

With a strong leap, he dived into the crowd and knocked Jason over, slitting his throat in an instant.

The entire BloodClan fell silent in shock. Suddenly, Heracules was scared of Clawface, and he could tell the others were, too.

Clawface stood up and surveyed the wide-eyed crowd. "From now on, I rule BloodClan. Those of you who won't obey me will join the others in the Place of No Stars—the Dark Forest."

* * *

"Lost again?" sneered Stormpaw as Sunpaw padded into the RiverClan camp.

"Wow," scoffed Rosepaw, "the territory's not even that big."

Sunpaw shrugged the insults off like he always did, and moved away from them. It did no good to argue, and there weren't any warriors who took his side.

He padded into the shadows, hoping to melt into them. No one noticed him, and everyone continued doing their own activities, the Clan bustling around busily.

* * *

Sunpaw blinked open his eyes. It was still night, and the moon, he saw out of the apprentice's den, was still high up in the sky. A little far off, Stormpaw lay on his back, snoring beside Rosepaw. Leafpaw slept by herself in front of Sunpaw.

Sunpaw quietly clambered out and shook himself, then padded out. He always sought comfort in the moon; it didn't disturb him, and he didn't disturb it, and he would watch it while sitting in the RiverClan clearing. The night was always better than the day; there were no warriors to insult him, and he mostly got the camp to himself.

He padded quietly into the middle of the camp and lay down like he always did, letting the warm night breeze ruffle his fur. The slightly damp grass felt cool and refreshing against his belly, and the river flowed past quietly, as if talking to him. The broken branches and rocks rushed by frantically and helplessly, carried away by the river.

"The moon's wonderful, isn't it?" asked a voice behind him. Sunpaw turned around. It was Clawface, who was gazing thoughtfully at the sky with his one good yellow eye. He padded up to Sunpaw and sat beside him. Both stared ahead of them for a while silently.

"Back so soon?" Sunpaw asked quietly.

"Come're," grunted Clawface, standing up. Sunpaw followed. Clawface led him out of the RiverClan camp and across the river.

Sunpaw followed Clawface out into the clearing. Suddenly, Clawface began running. Sunpaw pelted along to catch up… the forest was blurring… he could no longer hear the wind… they stopped. Suddenly, it was dark. Completely dark. A familiar smell of death filled his nostrils…

"The Dark Forest," Sunpaw breathed out.

"Of course," Clawface meowed in an oily voice. He strode on confidently, Sunpaw following tentatively at a distance.

They arrived at the edge of the woods. Beyond them stretched a vast, dark meadow. A lone tree stood in the center, and beside it, a river that curved around the tree. The bloodcurling caterwauls and yowls of forever-battling cats split the air. The stinking air ruffled Sunpaw's fur, but it definitely didn't feel good, and Sunpaw shivered.

Voices of now-faded cats seemed to be whispering in his ear. Sunpaw flinched as he smelled a she-cat's rank breath. Beside him, Clawface looked stoically about.

"I think," he meowed, "that we can train with Snowtuft. I think he's one of them not fighting."

"Did someone ask for me?" rasped a white tom, padding out of the shadows. He was scarred even more than Clawface and he wasn't completely solid; he looked pale and his image flickered in the rancid breeze.

"What's wrong with him?" hissed Sunpaw under his breath.

"Snowtuft is a respected warrior," Clawface responded, while Snowtuft looked at Sunpaw with arrogant disdain, "he is a senior warrior here in the Dark Forest, and I expect you to treat him as you would with Pikestar."

_Oh, so he's about to fade,_ Sunpaw realized. He'd heard about these cats, when no one would come to remember them. StarClan and Dark Forest warriors alike faded.

"Who is this?" asked Snowtuft. "Is he Sunpaw the ghost cat you were talking about?"

_I'm not a ghost,_ Sunpaw thought bitterly, _you are._

"This ought to be fun to watch," meowed another smooth, rather nasal-y voice. A silver tabby tom slid out of the trees, almost as pale as Snowtuft. Behind him emerged a spiky-furred black-and-white tom.

"Thistleclaw," Clawface greeted in respect. He ignored the silver tabby.

"So, Sunpaw," Thistleclaw meowed, padding forward. His yellow eyes gleamed evilly, and he regarded Sunpaw with scorn in his eyes. "What can you do?"

"Uhm, fight?" asked Sunpaw hesitantly. Thistleclaw snorted. Behind him, the silver tabby burst into drunken laughter, only to be jostled roughly by Snowtuft and Clawface.

"Shut up, Darkstripe," snapped Snowtuft.

Darkstripe quieted and strode forward, past Thistleclaw (who let out a hiss of annoyance) and sneered at Sunpaw, shoving his face into his. His breath stank of decay, and Sunpaw flinched.

"You're just a low-level apprentice," Darkstripe snarled. "You're not worth any of our times."

Sunpaw suddenly felt enraged. Who was this stupid dead cat to tell him who he was. Who was anyone to tell him who he was? _I belong here. This is a place for misunderstood cats, like Clawface said. I am a Dark Forest warrior!_

Angered, he lashed out at Darkstripe with all his might. Darkstripe stumbled back, his paw over his nose.

"Argh!" he growled. "Stupid apprentice!"

"Stupid apprentice just got you good," Snowtuft cackled. Sunpaw felt a rush of elation. Finally, some praise! Even if it wasn't that much of one.

Sunpaw ignored Snowtuft and leapt at Darkstripe, pinning him down. Imagining that the silver tabby was a squirrel, Sunpaw lunged for Darkstripe's exposed throat and bit down. Darkstripe's shriek was cut off abruptly, and as Sunpaw stepped off of him, the tom slowly faded.

The other three Dark Forest warriors looked at Sunpaw strangely. Sunpaw stood panting, unsure and afraid of what they were thinking. Would they punish him for killing a fellow Dark Forest warrior?

After a long silence, Snowtuft stepped forward.

"Greetings, Sunleap, warrior of the Dark Forest."


	11. Chapter 11

Even though Sunleap was regarded as a warrior of the Dark Forest, he didn't, deep inside, feel like a true warrior. What was a true warrior, he asked himself?

"As I give you this warrior name," Snowtuft meowed from the top of a rock, from where the Dark Forest warriors addressed their fellow Forestmates, who were sitting blow, a little way from Sunleap, "I want you to swear loyalty to the Dark Forest."

Sunleap hesitated. Would he?

"Go on," encouraged Thistleclaw beside him, "it's great here. We'll treat you like one of us."

Sunleap stood up and stepped forward. "I swear I will be loyal to the Dark Forest…"

"Until I die," Thistleclaw meowed.

"Until I die," echoed Sunleap. Suddenly, a cold rush flowed through him, and he shivered. He now was eternally bounded to the Dark Forest.

* * *

"Sunpaw, wake up," a gruff voice meowed, shaking him. Sunleap opened his eyes.

"What are you doing _here?_" asked a more scornful voice. He looked up. Coyotefur was frowning down upon him, but it was Rosepaw who had spoken. Beside her, Boartooth looked amused.

He was at the base of a tree, with a large, dark hollow gaping inwards. Rosepaw looked disdainful, and Boartooth huffed and looked the other way. Sunleap quickly clambered up, feeling embarrassed.

Coyotefur sighed, then began to pad on. "We are continuing with the patrol. You are free to join us."

Sunleap quickly fell into step with Rosepaw and her mentor, but Rosepaw snorted and jostled him aside. Boartooth didn't object, and Coyotefur only glanced back to see Sunleap stumble.

"Keep up, will you?" Boartooth called out. Rosepaw flashed him a smug grin, and Sunleap scowled back.

"Let him off," Coyotefur responded gruffly from the front, and Sunleap was so surprised he raised his head and looked at his mentor with the same expressions Boartooth and Rosepaw were giving him.

"You're supporting _him?_" scoffed Rosepaw.

Coyotefur flattened his ears and didn't turn around, and Sunleap could sense his fur growing hot. "No," retorted the brindled tom, "I'm just tired of you guys spitting insults that aren't necessary. It's really getting old, you know."

Boartooth and Rosepaw exchanged glances and smirked, but didn't say any more. Sunleap trailed behind, silently thankful that Coyotefur had at least spoken out. If Sunleap had said anything, Boartooth would've immediately reported him for being disrespectful, and Sunleap could only imagine what Runningwing would've done to him.

"Come up here, Sunpaw," Coyotefur called from the front a while later, "and you lead, please."

"Uh, me?" stammered Sunleap as he trotted past the other two patrol members, who both sneered at him. "I don't—I never did—"

"Well, you have now," Coyotefur meowed impatiently, "hussle!"

Feeling overjoyed and slightly nervous, Sunleap took the lead of the patrol.

"Um, what are we supposed to be doing?" he asked. Behind him, Rosepaw snorted disdainfully. "Border patrol or hunting?"

"Both, stupid," she snapped, "this is the dawn patrol!"

"Oh," Sunleap mewed sheepishly, "right. Well, then, I guess—"

"_Guess_?"

Sunleap heaved a sigh. "Well, then, we _will_ mark the borders we share with ShadowClan and hunt along the way back, there's the Minnowstar River—"

"We marked the ShadowClan borders yesterday," Rosepaw interjected.

"It doesn't hurt to mark them again," snapped Sunleap, speeding up. Rosepaw fell silent as she struggled to keep up; Sunleap allowed him a grim grin of satisfaction; his training in the Dark Forest seemed to be going well.

They had reached the ShadowClan border. The strong stink of the rival Clan was mixed with strange, other scents that Sunleap vaguely recognized, but couldn't recount on what it was.

"Rouges," he meowed.

"Duh," snorted Rosepaw. Coyotefur hissed.

"I told you," Sunleap said triumphantly. "Told you—"

"Get on with it," huffed Coyotefur, who was obviously in a bad mood. Sunleap fell silent and quickly marked the borders with Boartooth; they left rather quickly, Sunleap not wanting to disturb his mentor's mood again; after all, he had probably gained another supporter.

* * *

"The food's running low, again," Adonis, one of Heracules's sons, padded up. He was skinny like the rest of BloodClan and his eyes were dull with hunger. "Jericho has died, and so has Lucan."

"Not Luke," groaned Martin, who was standing beside Heracules. Heracules silently scoffed. Martin's sons were naturally weak; Martin himself was skinny and lithe, only a mediocre fighter. There were more of Martin's sons' deaths than Heracules's sons' deaths, because Heracules's sons had inherited their father's natural ability to survive.

_The more they die, the more my kits will take over,_ Heracules thought evilly. _And then, we can rule BloodClan. _

Heracules closed his eyes. Why had he paired up with Martin, anyway?

* * *

_It was snowy and dark. Heracules was small, then, small and skimpy. He shivered in the snow, crying out in fright. _

_ "Help! Someone! Anyone!" _

_ The snow was up to his shoulders; he had to jump high to move around. Within seconds of hopping around in the barren snow ground he was exhausted, and finally, finally, he spotted a cave through the flurry of snowflakes. Using his last amount of energy, he bounded over and collapsed onto the cave floor. _

_ When he woke, there was someone standing over him. A golden tom. Young Martin, whose blue eyes were deep with meaning, which stood out against his grimy, dirt-covered golden pelt, which made him so attractive, grinned an almost toothless grin. _

_ "You woke!"_

_ "Who are you?" Heracules had stammered. Martin was obviously older than him by years, but he was still a young kit. _

_ "I'm Martin," Martin had beamed, "and you are?"_

_ "I don't know," Heracules had said. "I don't have a name. My mother abandoned me."_

_ "Ah," Martin meowed. He looked up. "I will call you Heracules. He's a cat I heard about, big and strong. I'm sure you'll be like him."_

_ It was these kind of inadvertent insults Martin made that made Heracules dislike him from a point; I'm sure you _will_ be like him. _

So I'm not like him now,_ Heracules had thought irritably. But he had liked the name, so he had kept it. Yet, he stood next to Martin and supported him, the two of them working together to salvage food and water in the howling blizzard. They had stuck together, a duo, Heracules leading and Martin happily obliging to his every command. Heracules had never had control over another; it was a wonderful feeling, and he didn't want to get rid of it. _

* * *

Heracules glanced sideways at the skinny golden tom sitting beside him, and over at Adonis, muscular and white like Heracules himself. Adonis looked like the she-cat that he had met a short while ago, a black-and-white rouge who had stumbled upon them one night. He and Martin spent the night chatting her up; in the end, he had won her over, and Martin didn't speak to him.

It was these light-hearted games and bets that he and Martin had constantly that kept them at an accomplice-rival relationship; a while ago, they had bet who could have the most mates. Heracules had won, obviously, but Martin had a considerable amount, too. He could never name his many she-cats, except for a couple few he had considered extra-special.

Once the kits arrived, he took them and never returned.

Heracules was sure that Sunpaw was one of his sons; he had every detail that Heracules had, aside from the red eyes. Only a couple of his sons and daughters had red eyes, he could even name all of them: Icarus, Achilles, Aeolus, Helen, Aurora.

He was also sure who the mother was, though he didn't want to think about her. She had rejected him first, the first of all the mates he'd had to do that.

Heracules turned to Adonis, finally, after a long pause, and growled. "We have a plan. We will stop this starvation problem, but first, we need to prepare."

"For what?" asked Adonis nervously. His gaze flittered over to Martin, whose deep blue eyes remained stoic. It was always bad when Heracules got into these moods; he became unpredictable.

"For battle," Heracules snarled. "Battle on the Clans!"


	12. Chapter 12

"Fight!" yowled Snowtuft, and Sunleap reacted immediately. He lashed out at Thistleclaw, who was supposed to be playing defense. The Dark Forest had different (and better) fighting skills than those of RiverClan; the Dark Forest required one to play offensive at all times and never defensive. When Snowtuft yelled fight, he never counted down ("they never do that in real life, do they?"); he just gave the command and Sunleap was expected to react.

He landed one, two, three successive consecutive blows against Thistleclaw's face. Thistleclaw tried to lash back, but Sunleap could tell that he did not possess the young-cat strength that he himself had. Sunleap continued pounding Thistleclaw hard, and then, with immense ease, pushed him onto the ground on his side.

Thistleclaw groaned in pain, but Sunleap wasn't done. He raked his claws down Thistleclaw's entire side, and blood poured out, staining the slimy Forest grass and even creating a few puddles. With a shudder, Thistleclaw faded.

Snowtuft was frowning now. "That was quite a job there," he commented monotonously, "but I can feel that you could do better. What do you think?" with a flick of his tail, Silvershade, a younger Dark Forest warrior, lunged at him.

Silvershade was smaller and leaner than Thistleclaw; this made him faster, and he easily evaded Sunleap's blows.

Sunleap growled in frustration. _If I can beat Silvershade, then I will be stronger than Stormpaw, Rosepaw, and Troutpaw. I need to prove myself… _

Determination drove him on, and he began to try harder. Finally, he caught Silvershade on the side of the head, and the silver tom stopped darting around and stumbled back, his ear already bleeding.

Sunleap didn't stop to gloat, and instead jumped onto Silvershade, and continued to rain heavy, angered blows.

Silvershade's normally arrogant-looking eyes widened in surprised fear. Snowtuft stepped in a roughly hauled Sunleap off.

"All right, we need Silvershade, unfortunately," growled the white tom. "Get up," he snapped at Silvershade, who quickly clambered up, glaring at Sunleap in a murderous fashion.

_Uh-oh,_ Sunleap thought nervously. _Every cat in the Dark Forest who I don't kill wants to kill me. And if I don't keep up with their skills, they will. _

* * *

"Sunpaw, slow down!" growled Stormpaw in frustration as he, Rosepaw, and Troutpaw struggled to catch up. Sunleap ran ahead of the all-apprentice patrol, and he could hear, with satisfaction, their ragged breathing. There was a rustling in the nearby bushes, but he pretended not to hear it.

"Hurry up, then," he snapped back, skidding to a stop to wait.

"Wow, you're so fast!" Troutpaw exclaimed once they had reached him. He began to trot slowly.

"It's just practice," Sunleap replied casually.

"Who practices?" snorted Rosepaw.

"You mean you _don't?_" Sunleap gasped in his most disdainful voice.

"No," scoffed Rosepaw, but Sunleap could hear the faltering in her voice. "Why—why do I need to?"

_You stammered,_ Sunleap thought with satisfaction. "To get better," he replied, "duh."

Rosepaw rolled her eyes but she and Stormpaw remained silent, and Sunleap soaked in their loss of words.

_I'm beating you,_ he realized. _I'm going to beat you. Soon, you'll see that I'm just as good as any cat. _

* * *

"Can we split up?" asked Stormpaw after a while.

"Please," Rosepaw agreed.

Troutpaw shrugged. "I don't care. Sunpaw?"

"Sure," Sunleap replied. "Let's do."

And so they did split up. Sunleap headed north absentmindedly. Stormpaw and Rosepaw immediately ran off, and Troutpaw went south.

"Psst! Sunpaw!" hissed a voice. It was familiar, but Sunleap couldn't place it.

"It's Trojan, Heracules's son," the voice continued. Oh, so it was Heracules's son. The familiarity explained.

"Hi?" meowed Sunleap weakly as the tom stepped out; he was pure white, just like Sunleap, and even the same red eyes. _Wow. At last I've found someone like me. _

"Hi," Trojan meowed. "My father sent me."

"To do what?"

"He says that he's hearing cats talk about rouge scents, and the same ones each time," Trojan meowed. "So he's sent me instead. Of course, we'll be switching every once in a while. You know," he meowed hastily, seeing Sunleap's expression, "switching BloodClan warriors."

"Oh. Right," Sunleap meowed. "You are all… like this?" he gestured to the fur and eyes.

"Some of us have different eyes," Trojan replied, "but we all have ghost pelts, yes. And we're mostly brothers."

"_Mostly brothers?" _Sunleap meowed in disbelief.

"Yeah," Trojan responded. "There's this cat, Martin, who co-runs BloodClan with Dad and he also has a bunch of sons but there's more of us than of them."

"Oh," replied Sunleap, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"So um," Trojan continued, shuffling his paws. "I need a tour of the territory. I just wanna see it. The Clans seem so cool, compared to our Uprightplace-style life."

"Yeah," Sunleap replied, oblivious to the fact that Trojan was setting him up, "sure. Follow me."


End file.
